1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known connector has a synthetic resin housing identified by the numeral 1 in FIG. 18A. The housing 1 has opposite front and rear ends and a cavity 2 that extends through the housing 1 from the front end to the rear end. A lock 3 projects from an inner surface of the cavity 2 and a front stop wall 4 is formed in the cavity 2 near the front end of the housing 1. The lock 3 is deformed resiliently in response to forces exerted by a terminal fitting inserted into the cavity 2 from behind. However, the lock 3 is restored resiliently when the terminal fitting reaches the front stop wall 4. Thus, the lock 3 holds the terminal fitting in the cavity 2. The housing 1 is formed by placing molds 5, 6 before and behind the lock 3 and the front-stop wall 4 and filling the molds 5, 6 with a molted resin. The molds 5, 6 are withdrawn after a molten resin has solidified.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,551 discloses a connector that attempted to make the above-described connector smaller. This connector is formed by molding a part of a housing 1 that includes the lock 3, separately molding a part of the housing 1 that includes the front-stop wall 4 and then assembling the two parts together as shown in FIG. 18(B). This eliminates an undesirable reduction in the area of the front-stop wall 4 caused by the fact that the mold 5 provided before the lock 3 in the above connector is withdrawn as shown in FIG. 18(A). Thus, the front-stop wall 4 can be secure even if the width of the cavity 2 is small. In this connector as well, the locking portion 3 and left and right side walls 7 adjacent to the lock 3 are spaced apart to permit the resilient deformation of the lock 3. As a result, clearances of width Tb are defined between the lock 3 and the opposite side walls 7.
The connector of FIG. 18(B) could be made smaller only by decreasing the width T between the opposite side walls 7 of the cavity 2. However the holding force of the terminal fitting would decrease due to the reduced strength of the lock 3 if width Ta of the lock 3 is reduced significantly. To avoid this, the width Ta of the lock 3 could be kept sufficiently large, while the width Tb between the side walls 7 and the lock 3 could be reduced. However, such dimensioning requires a very thin mold 6 between the side walls 7 and the lock 3, and the mold 6 cannot have a sufficient strength. Therefore, there is a limit in making the connector smaller.
In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector that can be made smaller.
The invention is directed to a connector with a housing that has a plurality of cavities into which terminal fittings are insertable from behind. Locks project from surfaces of the respective cavities. Each lock extends along or is inclined to an inserting direction of the terminal fittings and is deformed in response to forces exerted during insertion of the terminal fitting into the respective cavity. Each lock is restored resiliently after the terminal fitting reaches a proper depth and holds the terminal fitting in the respective cavity.
A holder is mountable on the housing and has a front-stop wall for supporting the terminal fittings in the cavities at front-limit positions. The holder also has partition walls that are insertable into positions adjacent the locks. The partition walls are inserted at an angle to the resilient deforming direction of the locks until the partition walls reach the base ends of the locks, thereby forming at least part of side walls between the cavities. The terminal fittings are inserted into the cavities after the holder is mounted on the housing and are insulated from other terminal fittings by the partition walls.
The partition walls at the sides of the locks are part of the holder. Thus, clearances between the locks and the partition walls can be made small independently of molds used for molding the housing. As a result, the connector can be made smaller.
The housing has positioning portions that engage the corresponding partition walls and extending substantially along an inserting direction of the partition walls. The partition walls engage the positioning portions as the holder is mounted on the housing.
A sealing ring may be provided on an outer surface of the housing and may be squeezed between the housing and a mating housing to provide a watertight fit. The holder preferably locks the sealing ring by engaging the sealing ring from the front. Thus, the connector can be simplified as compared to a case where the holder and a member for locking a rubber plug are separate.
An unlocking piece may be coupled to the lock substantially over its entire length. The unlocking piece preferably is exposed to the outside through an exposing hole provided in the holder. Thus, the lock can be deformed resiliently by pressing the unlocking portion with a jig to disengage the lock from the terminal fitting.
Adjacent cavities may be divided at least partly by partition walls in the housing. The partition walls of the housing may be formed with notches, and the partition walls of holder may be insertable into notches in the partition walls of the housing. Thus, the partition walls of the holder enter the notch between the unlocking piece and the adjacent lock.
A retainer may be provided for locking the terminal fittings in the respective cavities. The retainer preferably is mountable into a retainer mount hole along a retainer mounting direction that intersects the insertion direction of the terminal fittings into the cavities.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that even though embodiments are separately described, single features thereof may be combined to additional embodiments.